Rangers signed George Tomlinson McLean from St. Mirren on January 23rd, 1963. The transfer fee was £26500, a then record amount for a player moving between Scottish sides.
As a youth, 'Dandy' played with Drumchapel Amateurs before joining St. Mirren. Whilst with Saints, he had shown up well against Rangers in the 1962 Scottish Cup Final despite finishing on the losing side.
George’s Rangers debut came on March 9th 1963 when Rangers defeated Dunfermline Athletic 2-1 at East End Park through goals from Davie Wilson and Jimmy Millar.
Eleven days later, McLean found the net for the first time as a Rangers player when East Stirlingshire were routed 7-2 during the Scottish Cup third round tie at Ibrox. Fast forward four years and McLean's Gers career came to a crashing end following defeat to Berwick Rangers at the same stage of the 1966/67 competition.
George could play at wing-half or inside forward but it was as a striker alongside Jim Forrest that ‘Dandy’ produced his best form for Rangers. In the two and a half seasons leading up to that 1967 defeat at Shielfield Park, McLean and Forrest had netted 170 goals between them.
McLean's most prolific season came in 1965/66 when he found the target on 39 occasions which included an impressive 25 in the League.
During season 1963/64, he opened his account in the best possible fashion by scoring in a 3-0 win over Celtic at Parkhead. It was Forrest, of course, who netted a double in that very same League Cup tie. McLean replicated his Old Firm feat the following month, this time in a League game at Ibrox where he equalised before Ralphie Brand clinched the victory. There was also a hat-trick against Falkirk before the goals started to dry up somewhat after Christmas.
It would not be the last time he would 'take home' the match ball. During George's incredible season of 1965/66, 'Dandy' scored a treble on no fewer than 5 separate occasions. Kilmarnock would have to endure this twice less than 6 weeks apart. Another highlight for McLean was his 20th minute penalty winner on 18th September 1965 which gave Rangers the Old Firm bragging rights once again.
Following that shock defeat to Berwick Rangers on 27th January, 1967, neither McLean or Forrest played a further competitive match for Rangers. McLean stated, "the next day the chairman (John Lawrence) came out and said Jim and I had to go". By April, George had been sold to Dundee with Andy Penman making the opposite move (Forrest initially signing for Preston North End).
In all, George scored 82 goals in 117 appearances for Rangers whilst winning one League Title and 2 Scottish Cups.
McLean went on to score regularly at Dens and, subsequently, for both Dunfermline Athletic and Ayr United.
George represented Scotland on two occasions, both caps coming after his time at Ibrox had ended. His Scotland debut came on 30th May 1968 during a goalless draw with the Netherlands in Amsterdam. With Ronnie MacKinnon, Dave Smith, Willie Henderson and John Greig in the same starting line up, there were a few familiar faces.
Born in Paisley, George has been based in Sydney, Australia for more than 30 years.
